The king of ghost horse comedy

Chapter 620 "Lord of the Rings"

"Stanley, I heard you're going to make a big move this time?" Richard asked with a smile, "What's going on, can you explain to us?"

"Yeah, we also want to hear about your big plan." David also said with a smile, both of them had bright smiles on their faces, and they looked very enthusiastic.

But Xu Guanwu is not in such a good mood at the moment, anyone who is betrayed by someone he trusts will not be in a good mood.What's more, to recruit the two of them back this time, Xu Guanwu originally planned to dig a hole for them.

"I do have an idea, but it's still immature, so I'm asking for your opinion." Xu Guanwu said with a serious face.

Richard and David looked at each other, both felt that this must be an unprecedented big plan, so Xu Guanwu hesitated.You must know that Xu Guanwu did not hesitate to invest in "Star Wars 2", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", etc., with funds as high as tens of millions.What can make him so distressed now must be at least an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars.

"If it's really an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars, how much can I get out of it?!" Richard and David looked at each other, with greed shining in their eyes.

In fact, their dispositions were not bad in the early days. When they approached Xu Guanwu to invest in "Jaws", and later "Star Wars", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", etc., their performance was conscientious and hardworking, so they were greatly appreciated by Xu Guanwu. trust.

But people will always change. When Richard and David are in power and become the hottest and well-known producers in Hollywood and get high remuneration, their state of mind also quietly changes.

When filming "Jaws" before, the two of them were just unlucky bastards discarded by Universal Pictures.At that time, even the 20th Century Fox Company no longer took them in. If Xu Guanwu hadn't continued to invest in the movie "Jaws", these two people might not have a chance to turn around.After all, Hollywood is not a charitable place, and no one will show mercy to those who have failed many times.

However, after successive successes in "Jaws", "Star Wars", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark", after sweeping away the previous decline, their personalities have become stronger, and their desires have also become stronger. It's big.Before, their production cost was only a few hundred thousand dollars, but after "Raiders of the Lost Ark", their production cost rose to one million dollars, and they even participated in the film's box office dividends.

Even so, the two still feel dissatisfied. It is easy to go from being frugal to extravagant, and it is difficult to go from extravagant to frugal. Seeing that they have worked so hard to make a film, they only end up with a few million dollars. Xu Guanwu doesn't care about anything, but he can get At hundreds of millions of dollars, Richard and David began to feel unbalanced.

But at that time, their production costs were already the highest in Hollywood, and unless they personally invested in the filming, the return could not be higher.But personally investing in the film would have the risk of failure, so they chose a seemingly safe, but actually more dangerous path, which is to quietly embezzle Xu Guanwu's funds for investing in the film.

Because of the previous friendly cooperation, Xu Guanwu also trusts Richard and David very much. After the investment is over, he rarely sends people to follow up and review, which brings great convenience to Richard and David.Since the filming of the film "Moonlight Panic", the two have been constantly taking money from the filming funds. At first, it was only a few hundred or a few thousand dollars. Later, they filmed "The Shining", "Star Wars 2", During the "Cannonball Run", the two became more and more courageous, and began to mobilize thousands of times.

"Cannonball Run" invested 2000 million U.S. dollars, and about one-tenth of it was embezzled by them under various names.The sum is 200 million US dollars, which was already a huge sum of money at that time. You must know that even the Oscar winner Marlon Brando's film salary is only 200 million US dollars.

If Xu Guanwu invested 500 million U.S. dollars this time, they are likely to get more than [-] million U.S. dollars from it. This huge sum of money is really a big temptation for them.

"Stanley, what kind of big plan is it? Tell us about it." Richard asked with a smile.

"Yeah, Richard and I will help you if there is anything." David also said with a smile.

Seeing the lascivious smiles on their faces, Xu Guanwu knew that the two of them had already fallen in love, so he continued to throw out the bait calmly, "It's like this, I liked reading a book very much before, it The name of the book is "The Lord of the Rings", have you heard the name of this book?"

Richard and David looked at each other, "Of course I know, this is the most important book in the history of Western literature, in the United States, in the United Kingdom, in France, in Germany... all Western countries, who would not Know this book? Gosh, you're not planning to put it on the screen, are you?"

Xu Guanwu smiled, "You're right, that's exactly what I mean."

Richard glanced at Xu Guanwu in surprise, "The story of "The Lord of the Rings" is quite long, starting from the time when Frodo inherited Bilbo's inheritance, until he destroyed the Supreme Lord of the Rings, and finally went to the land of the undead with the elves So far, the time span is too long, there are many characters involved, the story line is complicated, and the application of special effects is very large. If you want to put it on the screen, it will be quite difficult."

Xu Guanwu smiled, "I know that too, but I think since "The Lord of the Rings" has such a great influence and such a wide audience base, even if the investment is higher and the shooting time is longer, as long as the quality of the movie passes the test, it will be fine." It will definitely be popular with the audience, and it will get a very high box office."

Richard nodded, "That's right, Xu, you are indeed much bolder than us, and I support you in doing so."

David also smiled, "Xu, I also support you in doing so. To be honest, "The Lord of the Rings" is also one of my favorite novels, so I think you can leave this film to me."

Richard gave David a sideways look, "I'm also very interested in this book, just leave it to me, and I will definitely live up to expectations."

Xu Guanwu smiled, unexpectedly, a piece of "Lord of the Rings" would cause the two of them to fight among themselves. It seems that what the person said is not unreasonable, there is no absolute loyalty, but the price of betrayal is not enough.

In the past, for the profit of hundreds of thousands of dollars, the two people might not turn against each other, but now it is related to tens of millions of profits, even if they are as rich as they are, they can't let go easily, let alone Richard and David.The two of them did not quarrel on the spot, so it was considered restraint.

"Okay, okay, you two don't have to argue any more." Xu Guanwu hastened to be an experienced peacemaker, "Richard also mentioned the film "The Lord of the Rings" just now. There are many characters involved, the story is long, and special effects There are so many applications...it is a very vast and complex project, so I suggest that the two of you work together, do you have any opinions?"

Richard and David looked at each other. Since "Raiders of the Lost Ark", the two haven't teamed up again, because both of them have become famous, and each can be independent.But now it's okay to join forces again for "The Lord of the Rings". After all, this cake is so big that it may not be enough to eat it by yourself.

Richard and David nodded together, "Well, since it's for the masterpiece of "The Lord of the Rings", let's join forces again."

Xu Guanwu smiled, "It's really great that the two of you can agree. To be honest, I'm really afraid that you won't accept this important task because of the hard work."

"No, as long as we can produce good works, we will do it no matter how hard it is." Richard said with a smile.

"That's right, we are willing to dedicate ourselves to art, and no suffering can quench our enthusiasm." David also said impassionedly.

Xu Guanwu quickly waved his hand, "Okay, okay, don't say any more, I already understand the sincerity of the two of you. Very good, sure enough, I didn't misunderstand the person."

Richard and David also smiled, secretly glad that they got a big deal this time.

Xu Guanwu saw the happy faces on their faces, but secretly laughed in his heart, "The fish is hooked!"

"Then you all start preparing for the filming of this movie, from the script to the actors, from the special effects to the location..." Xu Guanwu thought for a while and said, "Tell me the cost later, and I will send you the money when the time comes."

Richard and David nodded, "I think the book "Lord of the Rings" contains too many stories. If it is simply compressed into a movie, if there is only a two-hour plot, it will be deleted. A lot of wonderful stories." Richard thought for a while and said.

Xu Guanwu nodded, "This is also what I am worried about. I always like to pursue perfection. If "The Lord of the Rings" cannot be fully displayed in front of everyone, I don't think it is necessary to invest in it. But if a movie cannot If it fully reveals its story, then I think we can borrow the model of "Star Wars" and divide him into three parts. Just like the book "Lord of the Rings", "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers" , "The Return of the King" and three volumes, each of which has been made into a movie."

"If you shoot three movies in a row, the investment is quite large." David exclaimed, "And especially for a magical movie like "The Lord of the Rings", there are a lot of actors, extras, special effects, costumes, etc. required. , it is estimated that the cost of each copy is likely to exceed 3000 million U.S. dollars."

Xu Guanwu smiled, "If it is really possible to complete the filming of "The Lord of the Rings" for only 3000 million US dollars, then I think I have made a profit. My previous estimated cost was [-] million US dollars."

Hearing what Xu Guanwu said, David wished he could slap himself in the face. He said that, half of his life was suppressed, and he lost at least more than 2000 million US dollars.

Richard couldn't help but give David a sideways glance. If it wasn't for the fact that Xu Guanwu was still here, he really wanted to strangle David to death, saying nothing about the cost.If Xu Guanwu believed that the filming could be completed with only 3000 million yuan, wouldn't they have lost at least tens of millions of opportunities to profit from it? !

"In short, I want this movie to be good-looking and wonderful. You two should work on it with your heart." Xu Guanwu said with a smile, "I will find someone else to take over the work you are doing now."

Richard and David looked at each other. Although they were still a little bit reluctant to part with the few films they were shooting now, they thought that there would be a big project with an investment of [-] million waiting for them, so they couldn't look down on those little ones with hundreds of thousands of dollars. item up.He couldn't help but nodded with a smile.

Xu Guanwu saw that they were completely in trouble, so he didn't bother to chat with them anymore, and turned around and asked Michael Ovitz to send a producer under CAA to take over.

In the United States, there are many film producers, and there are also many who are more capable than Richard and David, so once they hand over the throne of producer, someone will take over their position immediately, and they still do quite well. good.

Richard and David saw that Xu Guanwu sent someone to take over so quickly, but they didn't arouse the slightest vigilance. In their view, Xu Guanwu was in a hurry to get "Lord of the Rings" to start shooting.So they immediately started contacting screenwriters, directors, actors, etc., doing various preparations for the filming of "Lord of the Rings".

While they were tossing, Xu Guanwu had already packed his bags and quietly returned to Hong Kong.

(End of this chapter)